Admiral John Montagu (1719–1795) was an English naval officer and colonial governor of Newfoundland.

Naval career

He was born in 1719, son of James Montagu of Lackham,

Lacock Lacock is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Chippenham, and about outside the Cotswolds area. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust ...

, Wiltshire (died 1747), and great-grandson of James Montagu of Lackham (1602–1665), third son of

Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (7 November 1642) was an English judge, politician and peer. Life He was the 3rd son of Edward Montagu of Boughton and grandson of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to ...

. Montagu began his naval career in the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth on 14 August 1733.Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
/ref> He was promoted lieutenant in 1740 and served on and, in 1744, was present at the Battle of Toulon. In 1757 he was present at the execution of Admiral

John Byng Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Pass ...

. Promoted to

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 1770, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the North American Station from 1771 to 1774. In March 1772, Montagu was involved in the

Gaspee Affair The ''Gaspee'' Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS ''Gaspee'' was a British customs schooner that enforced the Navigation Acts in and around Newport, Rhode Island, in 1772. It ran aground in shallow ...

as the commanding officer of Lieutenant William Duddingston, where he unsuccessfully tried to identify and have prosecuted the raiders who attacked Dudingston's ship. He was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1776 and then appointed Governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland. Montagu captured St. Pierre and Miquelon for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and defended Newfoundland from both French and American privateers. By his swift actions he had prevented the French from capturing

Carbonear Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasiz ...

and

Harbour Grace Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about northwest of ...

. In 1783 he was made

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...

. He was promoted to Admiral of the Blue in 1782 and Admiral of the White in 1787.

Family

Montagu married Sophia Wroughton on 2 December 1748 and had one daughter and four sons. Of his sons,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

became naval officers, while Edward became a lieutenant-colonel in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. His daughter Sophia lived at Dale Park and the house there was constructed for her and her husband.Jacob M. Price, 'Smith, John Abel (1802–1871)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 16 April 2017
/ref>

Naval career

Family

References

See also